Hand tool for feeding strip to a rolling mill



May 7, 1957 D. M LEOD HAND TOOL FOR FEEDING STRIP TO A ROLLING MILL Filed Nov. 13, 1955 United HAND TDOL FOR FEEDING STRIP TO A ROLLING MILL Donald McLeod, Parma, Ohio, assignor to United States Steel Corporation, a corporation of New Jersey This invention relates to a hand tool in the nature of a come-along or pinch bar for advancing the end of a coil of strip into the bite of the rolls of a mill.

The starting of the end of a coil of hotrolled strip into the bite of the rolls of 1a cold-reducing mill is a troublesome, hazardous and time-consuming operation because the strip is heavy, stitf and awkward to manipulate. To overcome this difficulty, I have invented a hand tool which may be effectively used at the entry side of the first stand of the mill to advance the end of :a coil into a position where it is seized by the rolls as they are rotated slowly during the threading operation. I

In a preferred embodiment, the tool consists of a bar or lever of suitable length having a head block at one end thereof. The block has a fixed jaw adapted to engage the edge of a strip end on one side and a pivoted dog adapted to engage the other side. The dog is mounted on the block so as to cooperate with the jaw in making pinching engagement with the strip edge when the block is moved in such direction as to feed the strip into the mill. A fixed abutment is provided on the mill housing to enable the operator to use the'tool in the manner of a lever of the first class.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description and explanation which refer to the accompanying drawing illustrating the present preferred embodiment. In the drawing,

Figure 1 is a horizontal section through a mill stand showing diagrammatically the manner of using the tool;

Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the tool; and

Figure 4 is a section taken along the plane of line IV--IV of Figure 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, my strip-feeding tool embodies a bar or lever 10 of suitable length having a head block 11 at one end thereof. The block has the general shape of a rectangular prism but has the lower portion of its outer face cutback forming a recess defined by an overhanging shoulder 12 and an inset face 12a at right angles. A jaw-mounting block 13 is sccured in the recess by bolts 14 extending through a cover plate 14a overlying the block, the side of the latter and surface 12a being formed with a key-and-slot 15 for accurately positioning block 13 relative to block 11. As clearly shown in the drawing, the upper face of the block 13 is spaced below the opposed shoulder 12 of block 10 thereby defining a slot therebetween adapted to receive an edge of the strip. The block 13 is provided with a serrated insert or jaw 16.

The outer end face of block 11 has a slot 17 at an oblique angle to the slot defined by block 13. A dog 18 is pivoted in slot 17 on a pin 19 parallel to lever 10. The pivot pin extends through a cover plate 20 overlying the upper portion of the end face of block 11 and secured thereto by screws 21. The lower end of dog 18 is serrated for cooperation with the serrated jaw 16 in making pinching engagement with the edge of a strip when the tool is applied thereto. Dog 18 also has knob 22 on its tates Patent 2,791,460 Patented May 7, 1957 upper end projecting above the top of block 11 whereby it may be manipulated if necessary.

Figure 1 shows the mode of applying the tool to the edge of a strip 23 for inserting the end thereof between mill rolls 24 journaled in housings 25. The strip end is advanced toward the mill from an uncoiler in the known manner. When it reaches the position shown, it must be pushed further and guided manually into the bite of the rolls. For this purpose, my improved tool is applied to the strip edge as illustrated, so that the edge enters between the jaw 15 and the end of dog 18. The tool is then operated as a lever of the first class, making use of an abutment 26 secured to the housing 25 on the operators side of the mill. Thus, by pulling the outer end of lever 10 away from the mill, the strip edge is pinched or wedged between the serrated surfaces of jaw 16 and dog 18 whereby they secure a tight grip thereon and force the strip end bodily forward into the bite of the rolls. If necessary, the dog may be manipulated by knob 22 before movement of the lever is commenced, to insure that the strip edge will be gripped immediately.

The mill rolls are usually kept rotating slowly during the threading operation and, as soon as the strip end has been entered between them, continued forward movement of the strip will result. The portion of lever 10 adjacent the head block is thereupon arrested with engagement of the mill housing :and the grip of the jaw and dog on the strip is released by continued movement of the strip which tilts the dog 18 upwardly. The tool is thereby freed from the strip and may be removed and laid aside until needed again.

It will be apparent that the invention disclosed herein affords a simple yet effective means for forcing a strip end between the mill rolls after it has been brought relatively close thereto by power-feeding means. The hazard of manually entering strip between the rolls is thus avoided and the threading operation is greatly facilitated. In addition, the tool effects the operation more quickly than can be done by hand, thus reducing the down time of the mill.

Although I have disclosed herein the preferred embodiment of my invention, I intend to cover as well any change or modification therein which may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I-claim:

1. A strip-manipulating tool comprising a head block, a lever extending from one face of the block, the opposite face of the block having a step out back from the bottom thereof forming an inset face and an overhanging shoulder, a jaw block secured in said step against said inset face but spaced from said shoulder so as to provide a stripreceiving slot between it and the shoulder, said head block having a slot extending downwardly thereinto from the top thereof and intersecting said strip-receiving slot, and a dog pivoted in said second-mentioned slot on an axis parallel to said lever and extending into said strip-receiving slot, adapted to cooperate with said jaw block to pinch therebetween the edge of a strip disposed in the stripreceiving slot on movement of said head block along said edge.

2. The combination defined by claim 1, characterized by said dog having a knob on its upper end projecting above the top of said head block.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 763,549 Ferguson et a1 June 28, 1904 1,036,626 House Aug. 27, 1912 2,549,918 Miller Apr. 24, 1951 2,568,263 Wiseman Sept. 18, 1951 2,634,157 Haddock Apr. 7, 1953 

